


The Game

by MtMCL



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Oc family members for Regina in later chapters, fake!dating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-11-30 04:18:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11455827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MtMCL/pseuds/MtMCL
Summary: No Magic AU. Ruby and Kathryn set up their best friends Emma and Regina on a date but for different reasons. The set up doesn't go how either of them had planned much to Emma and Regina's amusement. Rated T for Mild Language (that may become stronger), crude humor and suggestive themes. Slow Burn.





	1. The Last Draw

Regina was a master of games, no matter the rules she knew exactly how to play. In her career, family life, friendships and love life her strategies, as she would put it were flawless. The world was her casino, one in which she was constantly winning Jackpots, and that's where she was now.

Regina was dreaming that her metaphor had become tangible she was swimming through piles of coins, still trickling out of the machines around her. The dream began to fade as she was pulled out of her sleep by the familiar tone of her cell phone ringing. She freed herself from the golden strands fanned out on her face coming from the woman next to her. She rolled closer to the small table that held her phone and answered it only to hear a voice on the other end scream at her.

"Regina Angela Mills!" Regina held the phone at a safe distance from her ears as the yelling continued.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Hey, Kat! What's u-" Regina began. Her casual tone did nothing but feed Kathryn's anger.

"Hey, Kat? HEY KAT? Regina, do you know how long I've been trying to reach you?" She asked but answered before Regina had a chance to.

"Two days Regina, I've been worried sick. Two days! Where the hell are you so I can drive over there and kill you."

Regina knew Katheryn was foaming at the mouth at this point but she wanted to push her a bit further.

"Well good luck driving to London." she answered with a smirk.

"London?", Kathryn's voice had climbed an octave.

"Regina, what the hell are you doing in London?"

Regina smirked again "Well right now, I'm doing this hot blonde."

"Regina! Oh my god." Kathryn paused for a moment in an attempt to compose herself. Regina swore she could hear her pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You scared the shit out of me just so you can bed girls in London?"

Regina sat up and scratched her head as the woman beside her stirred.

"Well no Kat, I like to think of it as me traveling to find inspiration."

Kathryn had become exhausted of the situation and with how Regina wasn't taking any of this seriously. She was exhausted of how often Regina did things like this. Kathryn drew a deep sigh before she responded, her voice much lower than earlier.

"Regina. Do you have any idea how terrified I was of what might have happened to you? You really need to stop doing shit like this."

Regina noticed the way her best friend's voice had dropped and how near she sounded to tears. She immediately stopped messing around with Kathryn.

"Okay yes, I understand Kat. I'm sorry for scaring the shit out of you like that. I really did need the inspiration though."

Kat raised her voice once more but this time tears were evident in her throat. "Regina I don't give a shit you should have told me or someone that you were leaving the country. I was about to report you as a missing person."

Regina felt extremely guilty now for putting the other woman in such a state of panic. Driving her to tears made it worse.

"I'm sorry Kat, I really am. It was impulsive of me."

"Incredibly impulsive, inconsiderate, irrational, irresponsible," Kathryn grunted as silence fell on them. They both sat with their phones pressed to their ears in silence for a few minutes. Then Regina decided to break the silence. She whispered into the phone in a very childish voice,

"I'm sorry Kitty Kat."

"Nope." Kat's tone was a bit more playful now but it was clear that she was still agitated.

"I'm not falling for that one this time. This was an ass move, Regina. A real ass move." Things went quiet again until Kathryn asked Regina when she was coming back home.

"Well, I should be back after the weekend."

"Okay well call me when you get back."

"I will. I promise."

"Good."

"Bye Ka-" the phone hung up before Regina could finish.

The blonde had now gotten up and threw her arms around Regina's neck

"Who was that?" she asked

Regina smiled in her embrace "Just my friend. I didn't tell her I was leaving the country so she's really pissed."

The blonde hummed and crawled into Regina's lap, "Breakfast will take your mind off of it. Maybe room service?" Regina chuckled as she laced her fingers through the woman's hair.

"I think I'll just have this English muffin right here." Regina dove face-first into the woman's neck throwing them back into the bed.

* * *

Emma didn't like games much. They rarely ended in her favor no matter how well she played by the rules. She'd done her best to remain a good sport but life had seemed to have been a vindictive dealer. One that felt that she was fair game. It had been that way from her very first round.

Emma had been in foster care since she was a baby, right up until she was fifteen. She had been tossed from home to home. Had been separated from her brother several times and although they had been reunited when they were adopted by the same family, she still felt separated from him in many ways.

Emma however, didn't want to be a sore loser, so she had decided to focus on the points she had been able to score. Emma had an amazing best friend who was like a sister to her. Ruby had crawled into her heart and refused to leave. She gave Emma more love and support than she could have ever expected. It was so overwhelming Emma couldn't bare to reject it. When Ruby had started to date her now Fiancé, Belle the love in Emma's life only grew.

Emma had also considered herself lucky to be a social worker for foster kids. Sure the job could be rather grueling. It often drained her physically and sometimes emotionally, if she got too close to a case, but she loved it. She loved the thought of helping kids play the cards they were handed. Offering more help than she had received in the system. Even if that meant giving up some of her own cards. In fact, that's what she was doing at that moment.

Emma had brought another large stack of paperwork home with her. She sat at her small desk reading and sorting through them as the sound of a knock echoed through her heavy door.

"Come in." she yelled as she turned to see her visitor.

Ruby cracked open the door, stuck her head through and sweetly called out.

"Emilia!"

Emma balled up a piece of scrap paper and threw it at her friend's head.

"You know I hate it when you say my full name, Ruby Ann" she stretched out the name and rolled her eyes for emphasis.

"Hey," Ruby whined as she entered the room. "That's my granny's name, not mine." Emma chuckled at her childish tone.

"What's up Rubz?"

Ruby shrugged as she steadily made her way towards Emma, who's back faced the door again.

"Just seeing what you're up to on this fine Friday night, Emz." silence fell on them for a moment before Ruby spoke again.

"What's all this?" she gestured towards the desk. "Brought work home with you again."

"Yup," she replied then bit her lip. Emma knew exactly where this was going. Ever since college, whenever Emma's workload had seemed to be getting too stressful, Ruby would try to ease her away from it. She'd try to get her to relax a bit and clear her mind. Her methods of relaxation had become more subdued since then. The trio often had game nights or mini dance parties which were nice, but she couldn't be bothered to be dragged from her work tonight.

"You're so tense." Ruby rubbed Emma's shoulders as she continued. "You know what you need?"

Emma raised the mug of water she had on her desk to her lips. She paused to answer before she took a long sip. "A movie night with the family?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, you need to go out and get laid."

Emma completely regretted that drink of water as she spat every last drop of it across her bedroom. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she explained.

"What?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fanfic I've publish in a very long time and It's a fic I've been working on for over a year. A lot of material has been stored for this universe following a pretty long time line of Regina's life. With that being said do expect more chapters and fics published for these characters in the future.
> 
> Thank you for reading I hope you've enjoyed it so far. I do not have a beta reader and I do struggle with dyslexia so please forgive any errors that may have slipped through all of my online checks. Please don't be afraid to send feedback or suggestions, writers need as much help and support as we can get. Feel free to contact me on Tumblr (thesuavestmotherfucker) I'll respond much quicker there. The next chapter should be up in maybe a week (maybe sooner depending on how editing the third chapter goes).
> 
> Standard disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of it's characters.
> 
> Thank you once again for reading !


	2. The Deal

Regina sat in the backseat of her cab nervously looking at the phone in her hand. She considered calling Kathryn again now that she had returned from her trip. The last conversation they had didn't run very smoothly. She had called Kathryn twice after their spat both times Kathryn asked if she had returned when Regina's answer was no Kathyrn rushed off the phone claiming she was busy and they should talk when Regina returned. Regina sensed that Kathryn was actually avoiding her which was worrying. She knew this game well but she didn't like it, it was very difficult to win. Just thinking of how angry Kathryn might have been was terrifying. Regina gulped and dialed her again.

"Hello!" Kathryn cheerfully greeted.

"Hey, Kat I've just gotten back."

"Hey Regina, that's great why don't you come over to my place?" Regina heart sunk a bit and her anxiety heightened. She knew she'd have to face Kathryn sooner or later but she was hoping for later.

"Your place?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that? "

"It's Monday, don't have work to do. "

Kathryn laughed

"Yes, but isn't that one of the pros that drove us both into writing, working on our own schedules."

"Um, well alright. I'll see you in a few minutes then." Regina hung up her phone and gave the driver the new directions. A new wave of anxiousness swept over her body. She thought she'd have more time to build back up her nerve before having to face The Lion. That's how Regina had referred to Kathryn since the day they first crossed paths. They met signing up for the school paper and it quickly became a competition for the editor's position. Kathryn had been a patient player, she'd always set out a perfect trap for her prey but Regina had proved to be a more challenging hunt than she expected. It was this challenging energy that led to a gradual and lasting friendship. Over the years Regina learned that although she loved this about her friend it was never fun to be the lion's prey. It was a game best to avoid, but she'd be playing today.

The cab pulled up in front of Kathryn's house Regina grabbed her small suitcase and made her way to the front door. She knocked and only had to wait a few seconds before Kathryn flung open the door, shrieked her name and dragged her into a hug. Regina was completely shocked at the gesture.

"Don't you want to murder my face?" She questioned.

Kathryn laughed

"No, of course, I don't. Well not anymore at least. Come on in I'm making tea."

That too was odd. Much like herself, the other woman preferred coffee. However, Regina put that thought on the back burner. She'll need all the energy she had for this meeting.

Both women sat down facing each other at the kitchen table holding their cups of apple cinnamon tea. As they sat there in silence Regina reflected on Kathryn first move in this game. Or in Kathryn's case, stage of the attack. This one Regina had named the creep. Kathryn would try to make her feel comfortable and safe before the initial pounce.

"I'm just really glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too Kat."

"Regina there's something I really want to talk to you about."

"I knew it was too good to be true." she playfully rolled her eyes indicating that she could see right through Kathryn's plan and that her defensive walls were now up.

Kathryn blinked looking a bit confused "Regina, how is it too-? Wait, Regina, I don't think we're on the same page here. "

"How could I not be with this elephant in the room? You're still upset about me leaving the country with no notice. Please don't try to act like that's not why I'm here."

"No, that's not why you're here. And I'm not angry, quite frankly I'm concerned."

"Don't be!" Regina snapped

"How can I not be you're my best friend and I don't think you're happy."

"You don't think I'm happy? Kat, don't be ridiculous."

"No, you think you are but you're really not and it's been showing in your work and your work ethics."

"Are you trying to say the way I've been writing is making me unhappy?"

"No Regina I'm saying it's a sign. Regina, I know you. I know what you've dreamed of, what you've always wanted and this life isn't it. Sure you have your name, fair share of fame and fortune but other parts of your life are lacking"

"I don't know what parts you'd be referring to. My family life is healthy, my social life is good, and I'm definitely not lacking in the love department. I've played the game just right. "

"Regina being physical with women isn't actually working in the love department. Knowing you, you would have liked to have settled down with someone by now."

"No, Kathryn you must be confused. That's you, I, on the other hand, have no need to settle down."

"You want to but you're afraid to that's all it is."

"Afraid? Afraid of what? "

"Yes, Regina afraid. Ever since you lost Danielle you just haven't been quite the same. She was your first love and it hurt you. It hurt you so much you never tried to love again. You were too afraid to. You just keep trying to jam women into your life to fill a hole that just can't be filled."

"Well to be honest I'm the one filling the holes."

"Regina I'm serious. You've just been slipping and shying away from love and it's really starting to affect you. You've started putting one night stands before your work, before your own safety I don't know why I let you slip for so long?"

"Let me slip?" Regina became angered at this comment.

"Yes you were hurting and instead of trying to help you deal with your emotions in a healthy and effective way I let you do whatever you pleased."

"Let me? Kathryn, I am a grown woman and I have the right to do as I please." Regina was yelling at this point.

Kathryn closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing in order to calm down. This was it, the final stage of the Lion going in for an attack. Regina was ready and filled to the brim with anger. Kathryn gave one final sigh before continuing.

"Regina." she nearly whispered, taking the other woman's hand beneath hers

"I didn't ask you to come here to fight. I just wanted to tell you, I'm pregnant!"

Regina honestly hadn't expected that response. Her rage subsided and her body filled with guilt. She had driven this argument out of Kathryn and jumped down her throat about it when the woman only wanted to share this good news.

"Kat.. did you just say?"

Kathryn nodded. Regina gasped reaching her hands to the other woman's face.

"You're having a baby? Oh my god! Kat that's wonderful, congratulations!"

Regina embarrassed the other woman

"I'm so sorry I stressed you out so much this week. I owe you big time now for that shit I pulled."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that."

Alarm bells went off in Regina's head. Had Kathryn found a new way to disguise her attack?

" I've set you up on a blind date with no sex Regina. At least until the third date. That's the deal."

"A blind date?"

"Yes Regina and if you don't like her we can find someone else."

"Kat no. Absolutely not."

"What happened to 'Kat I owe you big time for that shit I pulled' huh?"

"Kat please anything but that."

"Regina please just try it for me, for the baby."

"You are really going to milk this baby card aren't you."

Kathryn chuckled, "Maybe a little. I really do think it'll be good for you."

"Fine, I'll go on this date but only to prove to you that I'm not settling down material."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys soooo much for all of the kudos. I look forward to hearing more for you all in the future. Please feel free to message me either here or on tumblr (thesuavestmotherfucker) about characters or whatever really. The plot should really pick up in the next chapter which should be up within a week.


	3. The Play

7:43 pm

“What?” Emma yelped. Her spit take had just narrowly missed Ruby. She continued to stare at her friend in disbelief for her frankness.

“You know, get it on!” Ruby exclaimed as she nudged Emma with her elbow.

“Knock boots. Pound it out! Get some!” these expressions she accompanied with a set of obscene gestures.

“Stop stop stop.” Emma said as she grabbed Ruby’s hands, holding them in place.

“I knew what you meant it's just, where is this coming from?”

“Well,” Ruby shrugged again, “our wedding is coming up soon and you don't have a date yet.”

Emma stared at her blankly for a moment. “You expect me to get a date by going out and, as you so gracefully put it ‘Pound it out?”

“Well it’s a start. Just to dip your toes back in the game.”

“Ruby, even if I was planning to get back into ‘the game’, it wouldn't be tonight.” Emma huffed and had started to turn back towards her work station.

“Well it's a bit too late for that.” Ruby said.

Emma froze mid turn and glanced back at Ruby who was nervously biting her lip. The look made Emma nervous as well.

“Ruby, What did you do?”

“Uh, You remember my food critic friend, Kathryn? I maybe kinda set up a blind date for you with one of her friends.” she blurted out with a strained smile.  
“That's such a bad idea, setting me up with-” Ruby scrounged up her face, cutting Emma off.

“And it's tonight.”

“What!?” the question this time, a yell.

A moment of silence passed again, interrupted by the sound of yet another knock on the door. Belle then popped her in from behind it.

“Is everything okay in here?” she asked.

“No.” Emma replied “Your crazy fiancé set me up on a blind date and it’s tonight!”

“Oh God, Ruby.” she entered the room closing the door behind her.

“Why would you do that?” Belle asked

“So that she can bone.”

“What?” she questioned a bit taken aback.

“Bonk! Bang! Touch bases with the G!”

“STOP!” Both Belle and Emma shouted.

“Why’d you wait until now to tell me about this?” Emma inquired.

“You kinda have a record of weaseling out of these things at the last minute.”

“Well I can't do it. I have a lot of work to finish this weekend.”

“Oh Emma” Ruby grabbed her by the shoulders again. “What’s one night, huh?”

Emma huffed, “I don’t even have anything to wear.”

“Oh yes you do.” Ruby then stepped over to open Emma’s bedroom door completely. There on the other side hung a pink dress.

“Formal enough for your dinner date and sexy enough for if something else should happen.” Ruby stated with a wink.

Emma was a bit shocked, not so much about what Rudy had invested into this scheme but how well she kept her mouth shut about it. It was hard for Ruby to keep a secret to herself but somehow she had even managed to keep it hidden, even from Belle.

“Okay, fine. Only because it's your business friend but no more surprise dates Ruby.”

“A friend of a business friend” Ruby corrected “but yes okay, I promise only planned dates from here on out.”  
Emma rolled her eyes at the thought of possible dates in the near future.

“What time is this date?” Emma asked.

“At 9.”

Belle glanced at her watch before saying “Ruby it's 7:43” both her and Emma's eye bulged out at Ruby.

Ruby grimaced “Oops.”

Belle yanked the dress off of the door and handed it to Emma.

“Go, go, go!” she shouted as she ushered Emma to her adjoining bathroom.

Emma quickly changed out of her clothes and stepped into the shower being careful not to wet her hair. Her mind drifted to her last few dates. Not all of them ended terribly but none of them were great, and they had been so long ago. She’d never really outright told this to anyone. Not even Ruby, but Emma hated dating. Well maybe only the first part of it. She found it extremely stressful: the rules, the small talk, the pressure to flirt, having to be willing to share personal experiences but holding back on heavy personal information. Emma took a deep breath and turned her focus on the hot water pouring down her back. She hoped this one went well, hoped she could make it through the night. Drinking might make the night easier but it would not make her paperwork easier to do tomorrow. Emma groaned one last time before turning the water off. She got that Ruby was just trying to look out for her, but this just wasn’t the way to do that.

Emma stepped out of the shower, dried off and put on the dress before re-entering her room. As soon as she had one foot out of the bathroom her roommates grabbed a hold of her and plopped her down into a chair to begin their work. Ruby wrapped a towel around her neck as Belle began pulling makeup out a bag she had brought in. Rudy held Emma's curls in her hands.

“Belle how do I make this mess look good? We've got no time for curling.”

“Loose braid starting at the front. Then put it in a messy bun in the back.”

She then brought her attention back to Emma's face.

“I'm thinking a natural look is that okay with you Em?”

“Yeah that's fine.”

The speedy makeover had seemed to last forever in Emma's mind but twenty minutes later the couple was sweeping her towards the front door. She didn’t even have a chance to get a good look at herself in the mirror. Ruby had apparently called a cab and now they were stuffing her into it.

Belle soothed Emma's arm through the back window of the taxi while Ruby gave the directions to the driver. “I'm sorry about this Emma. I should have known she was up to something.” Belle apologized.

“You know our Ruby, always doing the unexpected but this was a real curve ball. I just hope it's not a complete strike out. For my sake and Ruby's.” Before the driver pulled off Ruby handed something to Emma, it was a room key.

“I don't think I'm gonna need this.”

“You might, trust me.”

“I'm having a real hard time doing that right now.”

She checked the time on her phone as her cab pulled off. From what Emma overheard about the directions the place was across town. She was definitely going to be late, and she hated being late.

She didn't know what she looked like, (and if she was being honest with herself) she wasn’t completely comfortable in this dress. Her mind then began flipping between how uncomfortable she felt now and how uncomfortable she was probably going to feel. All those things coming together made her so overwhelmingly nervous Emma didn't know if she could go through with this. Maybe she'd just skip this date.

 

7:32 pm.

Kathryn sat at the end of the Regina's bed staring at the door of the walk in closet. She had her right knee politely tucked beneath the other as her left foot shook with anticipation. Regina was inside of the closet getting ready for her date. She had locked her friend out, claiming that her nervous energy was going to prevent her from thinking clearly enough to decide what to wear. Kathryn got up and marched over to the door, for at least the fifth time. This time however she had finally grown impatience enough to knock at the door.  
“Would you please hurry up?” She squealed “I'm so nervous about this date.”

Regina chuckled from behind the closed doors. “You do realize I'm the one going on out on this date and not you right?”

“Oh just hurry up won't you. You should have just picked an outfit last week like I told you to. It would have saved us so much time.”

“To be honest Kat, I thought you'd let this whole go after a week.”

“See, that's exactly why I'm here. To make sure you see this promise through.” she glanced at her watch “And to make sure you're on time. You really should hurry up.”

“Kat, I have an hour before I have to leave. We're good on time. Who's this you've set me up with anyway?”

“Oh just a friend of a business friend.”

“We'll if that isn't the worst idea I've ever heard. ”

“I know people who've acted on worse ideas over the past week alone.” Kathryn half joked.

“Fair enough, but can we drop that whole leaving the country thing after this date thing.” Regina huffed playfully.

It was Kathryn’s chance to chuckle. “Probably not, it’s scoring me mad guilt points. Are you in done yet?” No response came from her friend.

“Regina just come out of the closet already. ” Kathryn demanded.

A deep laugh came from behind the doors.  
“I thought I already did.” Regina answered.

Kathryn rolled her eyes. “I’d swear you got a walk in just for that joke.”

Just then the doors swung open and so did Kathryn’s mouth. “Boom!” Regina uttered with a twirl as she reentered the room. She wore a very short, extremely low cut lace dress.

“I know, I look great!” Regina took herself in the mirror.

“No. I mean yes but, Regina.” She sighed “This is a friend of my friend we're talking about.”

“Let me guess, you think this is too much?”

“Try ‘too little’.”

Regina rolled her eye. “Oh please, Kat you're oversexualizing the situation.”

“Regina, you oversexualize every situation. You know what? I’ll just do it myself.”

“Do what?”

Kathryn stormed towards the closet.  
“Pick your outfit.”

“Now wait a minute.” Regina said just before Kathryn closed and locked the closet doors behind her.

“I made the date, it’s a friend of my friend. I’m picking the outfit.”

Regina groaned but didn’t protest any further. She only promised Kathryn one of these blind dates. She’d only have to put up with this for tonight, or at least she hoped. Regina returned to the mirror to check her makeup and re-fluff her hair.

A few minutes later, Kathryn unlocked the doors and brought out a high waist leather skirt and fluffy baby blue crop sweater

“Really?” Regina criticized the outfit choice.

“Yes really, you'll look wonderful.”

With no more than a roll of her eyes she put the outfit on and both women set out to leave the house. Kathryn placed a good luck kiss to her cheek before they both left in their separate cars.

Regina glanced at the time in her dashboard. It was just a few minutes she’d be a half an hour early, just as she planned.

 

9:22 pm

Regina sat at a table in the overcrowded restaurant finishing her second glass of wine. She’d been seated for about an hour now, her date almost half an hour late. Usually she’d show up to events and such early to get more comfortable with the space. Her punctuality, however added to her discomfort in this situation. Regina felt as though every eye in the joint was staring at her, pitying her. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that kept bringing waves behind it. Waves of embarrassment or rejection, she didn’t know which. Maybe it was both. She did know however that she wouldn’t have been stuck there with this sinking feeling if she had been allowed to enjoy her Friday night however she pleased, with whomever she pleased. She picked up her phone to send yet another text to her friend, letting her know once again how late her date was and how she’d be leaving soon.

Just as she was about press send, Regina noticed a woman searching through the sea of tables. They locked eyes for a moment and the woman made her towards her. She approached the table with an awkward smile.

“Hi! Are you Kathryn’s friend?”

“Yes, I’m Regina.” she answered dryly.

“Emma.” she reached out her hand for Regina to shake. “Sorry, I'm late. I've had a pretty crazy day.”

Emma then pulled out the chair opposite Regina. With her hands shaking a bit she placed her phone and purse on the table.

Regina had to bite back her pride. She had to make it through this for Kat, who didn't somehow see the importance of not mixing business and personal life in this sort of situation. And yes, Emma was late she but had to keep in mind it wasn’t the woman’s fault she had been there for an hour. She bottled up her irritation and plastered a smile on her face.

“That's alright,” she said as a waiter came over. “You're here now, so we can start this thing.”

The restaurant Kathryn had booked for them was popular but new and it showed.  
There was a lot of traffic going on but everything was still moving rather slow.  
They spoke of that briefly as they patiently waited on their orders.

After a few moments of silence they began talking small talk, trying to find a similar interest. That was starting to turn into a huge fail and Regina realized why. Emma wasn't fully there, she kept checking her phone every few minutes.

As Emma pushed the button again and the screen lit up Regina found herself looking down at the phone as well. On the lock screen there is picture of Emma smiling next to a very tall teenager who was dressed in a graduation cap and gown. There must have been at least a foot difference in height between the two.

“Is that your brother?” she asked pointing towards the screen.

Emma glanced up at her before babbling “Uh, no. That just one of my kids.”

Regina's eyebrow arched at this.

“Sorry, not my kids kids. I'm a social worker. I helped this kid find a good home, and they invited me to their graduation. It's just a nice little reminder of why I do all the hard work I do.”

Regina smiled at this and was about to ask Emma more about her job when she clicked the button to light up the dimmed screen again. She willed her eyes not to roll.

“Is that why you keep looking at your phone or do you have someplace else to be?” If she was going to have to be on this date she was not to be ignored. Regina easily could have been somewhere else as well. Emma stared at her like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before responding.

“Sorry, I didn't even notice I was checking. I guess I'm just worried about all the paperwork I need to finish this weekend. I didn't even know that I was going in this date until tonight, but that's not fair to you. I'm sorry.”

Regina chuckled heartily, “So you were pushed into this too huh?”

Emma huffed. “I didn't even get to choose what I'm wearing.”

“Me neither.” Stated plainly, taking another sip of her wine. “You know what sucks? They're probably just gonna keep setting us up on these.”

“I'm not looking forward to it one bit.” Emma sighed, “Unless?”

“Unless?” Regina inquired.

“Unless, we play them.”

Regina's smile spread from ear to ear. Oh, how she loved a good game.

“Whatever you're thinking, I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. I know it's really late but I've been juggling a lot of odd jobs and other stuff. I hoped you enjoyed it none the less.
> 
> A hurricane is supposed to be heading my way this week so I'll probably get a lot of writing in and hopefully update soon. Depending on how much damage we get I guess.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've published in a very long time and It's a fic I've been working on for over a year. A lot of material has been stored for this universe following a pretty long time line of Regina's life. With that being said do expect more chapters and fics published for these characters in the future.
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic I hope you've enjoyed it thus far. I do not have a beta reader and I struggle with dyslexia so please forgive any errors that may have slipped through all of my online checks. Please don't be afraid to send feedback or suggestions, writers need as much help and support as we can get. Feel free to contact on Tumblr (thesuavestmotherfucker) I'll respond much quicker there.
> 
> Standard disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of it's characters.
> 
> Thank you once again for reading !


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